Met Eireann has increased its weather alert for Donegal to an Orange Warning.

Temperatures across the county are set to plummet tonight with warnings of ‘thunder-snow.’

The national forecaster says Donegal and the north-west in general can expect hail, sleet and snow with snow expected to settle at lower levels.

The forecast warns “Very cold, wintry weather from Wednesday evening onwards until Friday night. Showers of hail, sleet and snow will occur, with moderate accumulations to lower levels inland, more significant amounts on high ground, where there’s a risk of drifting and blizzard conditions at times. Some scattered thunderstorms also.”

And the experts say Ireland could even be walloped with a rare outbreak of “thundersnow” this week.

The rare phenomenon occurs when thunderstorms – which are much more common in summer months – form in wintry conditions.

If the weather is cold, the rain associated with a thunderstorm can then fall as snow and therefore is called thundersnow.

Donegal County Council will have their full fleet of gritters out this evening and have asked people to drive with care and not to take chances when driving.

Met Eireann issues Orange Weather Alert for Donegal as ‘Thundersnow’ forecast was last modified: January 12th, 2017 by stephen